Prefixes
A prefix is added to the beginning of a root word. The meaning of the word changes when a prefix is added on.
Meaning of Prefixes
The table below shows a list of prefixes and their meaning with examples.
| Root Word | Prefix | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| social | anti | against | antisocial |
| relevant | ir | not | irirrelevant |
| understand | miss | wrongly, not | misunderstand |
| employed | un | not | unemployed |
| agree | dis | not, opposite of | disagree |
| biography | auto | self | autobiography |
| justice | in | not | injustice |
| again | re | again | redo |
| view | pre | before | preview |
| circle | semi | half | semicircle |
| marine | sub | under | submarine |
| cycle | uni | one, single | unicycle |
| media | multi | many/much | multimedia |
| develop | under | below | underdevelop |
| graduation | post | after | postgraduation |
Prefix Rule!
Root words beginning with the letters l, m, p or r cannot have the prefix in meaning 'not' added to the front. Have a look at the example below for prefixes that can be added to the front.
Example
- root word:legal
add the prefix il in front of the root word legal
illegal - root word:mortal
add the prefix im in front of mortal
immortal - root word: possible
add the prefix im in front of possible
impossible - root word:regular
add the prefix ir in front of regular
irregular